Slate Reporter Says Phoebe Prince's Death By Bullying Case More Complex Than It Seems

They are in high school! They know what they are doing and they know what can happen. They would have to be BRAIN DEAD not to know, since this topic has been all over the tv and radio and newspapers for a while. To claim they are children and therefore that takes away all COMMON SENSE is ridiculous. Today, ever more than yesterday or yesteryear, our children are smarter and more priviledged than we were. They get away with much more and the TOTAL LACK of RESPECT for others has been completely REBORN! Get over yourself, probation would be talked down to a violation and they would once again be on the prowl. I say put them away until they are 21 with others like themselves, CRIMINALS! They took away her spirit. It may not have started there, but it sure as hell ended there. And the parents should have their other kids taken away from them and they should be charged as ACCESSORIES to her death as well as school personel for NOT stopping this great atrocity growing across this nation. People like you took GOD, the PLEDGE OF ALLIGENCE, PRAYER, and our national anthem out of schools. The one thing that was forever true in my day was loyalty to one another. Lest people forget.

It was a very horrible thing that happend both to the family of the victim and to the group of kids who commited the crime. I believe that this children should be held accountable for what they did. As to the parents I would say to conduct an investigation and treat each one case idepdently. I am a mother and have rised my kids with values of respect and tolerance of differences as is my responsability, but if my child would have joined the group out of pear pressure, would his lack of judgment be my fault?
This is a terrible day for America to see our children do this kind of things. This case needs to be a pecedent to American families, that when parents and educators fail to protect our young, the law should take over. These children need to pay for their crime and yes, bulling should become a crime punishable by law, So that parents can tell their children what price they would pay should they exercise such practices.

she lived with a disability, it's call mental disease and it was not her fault. What would you think of students making fun of someone who has trouble walking, seeing, hearing? Living with a disability is difficult enough without having other people make it harder.

Yeah. You're quite popular. That's probably why you don't understand.

She had "problems." Oh God you're just as narrowminded as everyone else.

So why didn't you do anything when you see other people being bullied, you are also a bully yourself! I have kids of my own and if you bullies harm one of my kids, you better run fast and hide well but I will still find you!

Sweetie, if you see bulling happening every day and you say you are "popular" then do something about it. Make a difference. Stand up for the teens that are getting harrassed. It starts with people like you, you have a voice and power to change it. Please think of that the next time you see a fellow high schooler being made fun of or picked on.

Shawnese, I understand you are just a child yourself, but if there is one thing you come away from this with I hope it is that when "you see people being bullied everyday" you learn to help them. You don't have to come right out & be their friend but you could say something like, "I wouldn't like it if you treated my sister like that". You are not sticking your neck out directly but if you're as popular as you say it could make your popular friends think twice before they bully those other kids. I wasn't bullied myself as a kid, but two of my children have been bullied and these little things your friends see as innocent affect the child and his/her family. Both of my children have had to seek counciling. It has affected our family more than you can ever imagine. Please try to take all of this into account and learn from what has happened to this girl, even if her bullies receive no punishment from the courts, it will be on their conscience forever.

@ Tracy: I was thinking the exact same thing, she should make a difference, unless she is one to stand by and laugh about it. Maybe she doesn't want to take the chance of losing her popularity. If that were me, I wouldn't care. Back when I was in school, I wasn't that popular, BUT I stood up for the some of the kids being bullied, and I DIDN'T CARE what the other kids were thinking about me. I still wouldn't. It's a horrible thing to stand by and just watch that happening to someone, try and put yourself in their shoes, feel the humiliation that they are feeling. It's very sad.......

The fact that she was pretty has nothing to do with why there is national attention to this case. The fact that she is dead is why there is national attention to this case.

You know what... As a person who came through and conquered teenage depression, I have to say there are VERY many factors that can make a young child do things that they shouldn’t- make them act without thinking. Honestly, I have NO idea who should be punished for this. It seems that someone should get the blame, because blaming someone brings closure to the situation for everyone... Rather, however, than blaming just these six CHILDREN (who will no doubt suffer serious depression themselves after carrying such a large responsibility as this one) I like to take a deeper look at things... FIRSTLY- I am ashamed that this case has come down to a national "should they, should they not" case. Who are we random internet folk to cast so much judgment? This could have just as easily been one of us, one of our children, one of our students. SHAME- on anyone who thinks that there is always a simple solution to something so complex. MANY things should have been done differently. Teachers should have stepped in.. Parents should have raised their children differently... she shouldn’t have provoked bullying in the first place. There are a lot of "should haves" but all that means squat in a bucket right now, with one girl dead, multiple sets of grieving parents of EVERY child involved, and six children up for criminal charges. We have to remember that THIS girl did this. In the end, rather for love, lies, or regret, she killed herself. When I was seventeen years old, my boyfriend killed himself. That was NOT my fault. No matter how many times we argued with each other, or how many times we got mad at each other and said dirty things, it was NOT my fault. It was HIS choice in the end. He had problems that to him, there seemed no other escape than to take his life. Did it hurt me? Yes. His family? Yes. His schoolmates? Yes. He had bullies… He had friends… he had everything high school had to offer. In the end, he made a choice, consequential of all that had happened to him in his life collectively. The truth of it is, EVERYONE has problems that are arguably JUST as bad in different ways, as the next persons problems. Some are strong enough to face it and push on, and others are not. That would be the kids like my boyfriend Dave, and Phoebe. It is important right now that NO ONE is blamed too harshly for what Phoebe decided to do with her life. Part of the reason for her suicide could have been that she didn’t like the bullying. Part was likely because she was away from her parents. Where were her parents? Was she getting help with counseling? Yes, no, maybe, it is all neither here nor there. The point is- no ONE person could have PREVENTED this action, therefore no ONE person (or in this case group of six) could have wholly CAUSED it. MY PERSONAL OPINION— is that these children should NOT have been kicked out of school and robbed of their education. That, however, is out of my hands. I do think that they should see some punishment. Nothing as harsh as prison time. That is MUCH too harsh. But perhaps some sort of probation- maybe working with children who have disabilities, so that they can see how much more opportunities they have in life, and how they should take advantage of that. They should also be provided with weekly counseling sessions to help them cope with what happened, and to help them deal with the media they are getting, and also to help them cope with the fact that something THEY have done may have been a huge cause of something with terrible, terrible consequences. They also need counseling so they know that they are allowed to go on after this and have a normal life and continue on without chronic depression issues. They are STILL just human, and children at that. The parents SHOULD have been present and with their daughter while she was sick. However, they were not. Pointing this out now does nothing, and telling her parents this would likely hurt them. Again, they could not have helped it. School officials, I give the most blame (personally)… I’ve been a high school student before and I know how it works. I’ve seen it. They COULD do something but they feel it best to stay out of it. The truth is, they are just like anyone else who has a job… “God I can’t wait til I can go home”… Now, not all teachers are like that, mind you. But I know if I were a teacher, at a high school, battling all day to stand my ground and keep the respect of my students (which is hard enough, I’m sure)… Trying to tell them to “all get along” wouldn’t be the easiest thing to do, and in fact, would probably be relatively pointless as a teacher. HOWEVER—principals, police officers (who usually patrol on shifts at most schools) and guidance counselors SHOULD have been there, watching, giving advice, helping, and preventing. A school wide system AGAINST bullying should have, and still should be implemented. If a child knows that they will be in GRAVE danger of punishment for bullying, not just idle threats, but threats of punishment that are BACKED UP, regardless of whether or not the child is a football star, cheerleader, or valedictorian, the student will be a LOT less likely to bully. I’ve seen football stars walk free after deliberately disobeying school policies just because they were needed at a game. It happens. It shouldn’t happen. End of story. To the girls family: I’ve deeply sorry. To the families of the six children, I’m deeply sorry. For the six children themselves, I am sorry. This is a tragedy all the way around and should be viewed as such.

come on people sshe was troubled she needed help but no one came when she despritley needed it and look this is mostley the teachers falt for not noticing what they should of been concernd about i mean COME ON! another thing why didenther parent no about her self mutulation problems they need to pay more attintion to there daughter. and u may not like what i have to say but this is the way i see it through my eyes.

I agree, bullying is taken way too lightly, but I think teachers and administrators are starting to wake up. My 7th grade daughter was bullied this year, and it took several calls - and finally physical violence against her in PE class - these girls slammed her against a wall and the teacher did nothing - before the principal would do anything. The main bully/girl also texts her threatening things, and even after multiple calls into the principal's office, having her locker moved (it was right next to my daughter's, so she coudln't just avoid her) and a couple of calls to the parents, the girl is still texting her and threatening to beat her up when school starts again. This time her mother found the text, and called my daughter and made her daughter apologize. I will be dogged after this girl if she continues to do this....everyone now knows - the parents, the teachers, the principal, the counselor. If my daughter gets another threatening text, I will report it to the police. The police in our town are getting very pro-active with kids who are bullying electronically, and any other way. Thank goodness people are finally waking up to this, but it hasn't been easy. Telling my daughter to "let it roll off her back" and walk away, repeatedly, for months and months, only lasts so long before she breaks and just can't take it anymore. She has a right to be able to go to school without worrying about being bullied - so does every child. My daughter is not a "loser"- she is a very pretty, gifted, talented and sweet girl, with a big heart. She has no history of depression, but she now has developed anxiety attacks that have required an ER visit, and the doctor gave us Xanax. I don't want my 13 year old having to take Xanax! But she has asthma, so if she becomes too anxious, it might trigger another dangerous asthma attack, which has been under control since she was 6 years old - never a visit to the ER before this year, never an "anxiety attack" before now. Bullies don't give up - they keep it up, even after they get in trouble, even if they are exposed - they don't care - they know what they are doing to the person, they like being mean and getting under their skin, and NO ONE should have to go through that, whether they have a disability or depression or not. This bully, this girl, has apparently good, caring parents, mother is a teacher; the girl is pretty and has friends, but for some reason, this girl has been mean since she was in elementary school. Once, she devised a lottery, and made and sold tickets to kids in the class for the right to throw insults at another little girl at recess - in the third grade! What kind of third grader thinks of that? Bullies need to be dealt with - and they obviously have some deep-seated problems themselves.
The victim should NEVER be blamed. These kids knew they were targeting a troubled individual, yet they kept at it until she couldn't take it anymore. They have no compassion to do such a thing. "Simple girl drama" is no excuse - sometimes it gets severe enough to be hugely damaging - as is evidenced in this case of Phoebe.

That's the way it always seems to be, when some justice if about to be done some idiot comes along to stand up for the guilty ones. They're just as bad as those lawyers that allow dangerous criminals back on the streets just because they paid the best.

It's about time something was done about these bullies and I hope they get sent away for life.